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National Signing Day: Adoree' Jackson To USC, Alabama Gets Top Class

College football’s National Signing Day is one of the sport’s biggest events of the year. Throughout the day, many of the nation’s top high school football players announce their college destinations, sending college football fans across the country into frenzies of joy or disappointment.

None of this year’s recruits will make as much of a splash as D-end Robert Nkemdiche did last year. In the run-up to last year’s signing day many were comparing Nkemdiche to all-time greats like Lawrence Taylor and Bo Jackson, and his decision to sign with Ole Miss helped the school to one of the year’s best recruiting classes.

Many top recruits have already committed to their top schools in recent weeks, but until today one stellar athlete remained undecided: Adoree’ Jackson. The monstrously explosive player, who was ranked ninth-best in his class by ESPNESPN, has officially chosen USC over local rival UCLA. Though he played high school ball outside of Los Angeles, his commitment to either school was far from a sure thing. A month ago he took to Twitter to announce his six finalists, which included Oklahoma and three SEC schools:

I Wanna Thank God & All The Schools Who Recruited Me But The Wait Is Over My Top 6 Schools: Florida,LSU,Oklahoma,Tennessee,UCLA,USC — SWEET PEA (@AdoreeKnows) January 4, 2014

Some might be surprised by that given that many top recruits stick to the hometown powers – New Orleans native Leonard Fournette, the year’s top running back, has signed with local LSU; Virginians Andrew Brown and Quin Blanding, both five-star defensive recruits, have committed to the University of Virginia. But Los Angeles isn’t really Jackson’s home town; rather, the young defensive back grew up outside of St. Louis and has only lived in California for the last few years.

Nabbing Jackson is a huge deal for USC. The Trojans have struggled in recent seasons, and the team’s recruiting classes have been slipping. Rivals.com ranked USC first in 2010, but the school has fallen each year since, ranking at No. 13 last year. The team’s secondary has been one of its biggest weaknesses, which means that Jackson ought to have a clear path toward a starting job and, with any luck, a hand in helping turn things around in LA.

Other big news of the day:

Fellow five-star recruit Lorenzo Carter, a defensive end who hails from just outside of Atlanta, was widely expected to stay local. Today he officially confirmed those suspicions, announcing his decision to sign with Georgia. The SEC program is annually ranked among the nation’s top recruiting powers, thanks in recent years to commitments from the likes of safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and right tackle John Theus. Carter, arguably the best pass rusher in this year’s class, is another major name to add to that list.

Four of the best wide receivers in this year’s class also stayed in-state: Malachi Dupre (LSU), Josh Malone (Tennessee), Travis Rudolph and Ermon Lane (both Florida State). The two FSU recruits highlight that Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher has put together another stellar recruiting class. It helps to win a national championship and have direct access to Florida’s hotbed of football talent, and Fisher has also received commitments from other in-state stars like running back Dalvin Cook and linebacker Kain Daub.

But good as Fisher may be, he doesn’t come close to Alabama’s Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide once again appear to have the year’s best recruiting class, this time laying claim to five different five-star commits. Saban’s newest commits include offensive lineman Cameron Robinson, the year’s top offensive lineman and the nation’s third-best recruit according to ESPN. The recruiting dominance shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the team’s on-field success and Nick Saban’s new contract, which should keep the sport’s top coach in Tuscaloosa beyond 2020.

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